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St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my life. Its beauty was so powerful that it moved me to tears and left me frozen where I stood. The hands of great Renaissance men chiseled and carved this building out of nothing. Their imprint has stood the test of time.

You’ve heard of peyote, right? The psychedelic cactus plant that Native Americans and Mexicans have used for eons in their transcendence rituals? Taking it has been known to trigger new insights about familiar life stuff. It shakes you out of your routine, opening up higher planes of thought and adding dimensions to your relationships with other people and the environment around you.

Well, it so happens that the town of Marfa, TX is located right in the heart of peyote country. That could be just coincidence, but spend a weekend in this town and it will make perfect sense––whether or not you imbibe the cactus tea. There must be something in the soil out here, because Marfa is a mind trip all by itself, and somewhere you definitely need to make time for when you’re traveling the high desert of West Texas.

Truth or Consequences is more than just a funky town with a weird name. For starters, there’s the way it landed that strange moniker. “Truth or Consequences” was actually the name of a famous game show on NBC radio in the 40s and 50s. In 1950, they announced they would celebrate the show’s 10th anniversary by broadcasting from the first town to change its name to Truth or Consequences. Hot Springs, New Mexico jumped at the chance — and won!

Seeing a great film can be a spiritual experience in itself, but if you’re lucky enough to see it in a classic movie palace, it becomes a sacred event. My cathedral of cinema will always be The Music Box Theatre on Southport Avenue in Chicago.

On the surface, the Cathedral of Junk is a big crazy treehouse structure some dude built in his backyard. That’s worth a visit just for its weirdness, but it doesn’t begin to do justice to the real power of this place. Its title couldn’t fit it more completely: it’s a Cathedral of Junk. “Junk” in the sense of human detritus, and “Cathedral” in the sense of shrine. If that sounds confusing, just do yourself a favor and go… I promise it will change the way you look at trash and human beings’ impact on this rock we call Earth.